The Underside of the Unseen
by Scorpio's-Assassin
Summary: Life is a game. Shinobi are cards, with the five great Elemental Nations controlling them. Reiko is one of the cards that Iwa plays. But behind every card there is a secret... That must not be told.
1. Mission Impossible

**Thank you for reading this story! Hope you like it. Many thanks to my PM-pal The Kazekage of Suna for coming up with the story name, Black Hot Devil for just being there, and my iPod! Oh yeah its been updated with some tense changes! It should not be too sad though! XD**

**Disclaimer: Me no own Naruto. Or Sasori and Deidara would get more screen time :(**

******Read and Review!**

* * *

_3__rd__ Person POV_

She is running. For her life. More like to improve her life.

Since birth, she had belonged to the lowest of the low castes—the orphans and beggars on the streets. She was treated like the plague; nobody wanted to go near her; they even looked at her in fear. Her name is Reiko, and this is her story.

* * *

**Reiko is 16 now. **

_Reiko POV_

My name is Reiko. I am a kunoichi from Iwagakure. As for my last name, nobody knows. They say that I was found by a nun who also found a note next to me stating that my parents wanted me to be called Reiko. I was probably a bastard child, but that did not explain why everybody looked at me in fear. However, I had two best friends. Yes. Had.

Sigh. My only best friend left is Sato Sumiko. We were good friends at first, but why had she abandoned me? Was it because I was not good enough? Had I not tried my best?

'Cheer up, Reiko,' I smile and console myself, 'There are good people out there who will not hesitate to be your friend. Just wait and get stronger.'

_Then he had come._ Iwa Deidara, the apprentice of the Tsuchikage. Proud, strong, but kind, he was my goal, friend, and mentor and is the reason why I have mastered (hehe, not really) the art of bombs and explosions now. Then he had left Iwa, talking at how it was too little for his potential. I mutter curses at the bomber. _Really, and you're off gallivanting when I'm stuck in the gutter? Not appreciating what you have? And I thought we were supposed to be friends! _

I sigh. And lose a brain cell. But I can't blame myself for it though. Why I am gripping the rock face tightly with my hands and feet is for him. This mission is to kill him.

* * *

_Flashback_

_'Kill Iwa Deidara and Akasuna no Sasori,' The Tsuchikage had said. _

_He stood on top of the podium, looking down at them. Deidara's name hit the room like a cannon ball. _

_'Even though this is a hastily arranged squad, I still expect you all to be able to handle the situation.' His eyes lingered on me. 'As other villages have grown suspicious of us using the Akatsuki, we are planning to show them that we do not. Anyway, I do not think that we want the Akatsuki's help any longer. Especially…' _

_I swore that I could have cut the tension easily with any mountain rock. 'Especially when Iwa Deidara is there putting shame to your village,' I thought, mentally completing the Tsuchikage's sentence. _

_Oonoki is an old man, and a very traditional one at that. He still rules Iwa by the old system of caste, and it is a biased system, especially when you belong to the lowest caste—the beggars and orphans. But I still love my village, and not many of the people were orphans or beggars anyway. At least they were happy. I would do anything to make them satisfied. _  
_However the Tsuchikage thinks otherwise. Even though for the last 6 months I had trained myself relentlessly in the art of explosions, he still refused to let me join the Explosions Corps. He only let me use the training ground (Isn't that a right for all ninja?) and basic training and a squad. Medic training? Well, I asked for that, and he immediately declined. Oh well. I still taught myself a little. Whatever free time I had was spent in training or going to the library to read up on the medicinal properties of plants. It was for the good of the village after all. _

_I was jolted back to earth by the Tsuchikage saying, 'We have pinpointed their rough location. It appears to be around Dragon Mountain. Dismissed!' _

* * *

'Well, I had better find Akasuna no Sasori first,' I think,'Deidara's way too loud for a ninja, everybody will know his location.' Sure enough, in the tree cover about a kilometre to my right, there was a loud BOOM and an explosion that I am sure completely destroyed all the trees, rocks, and plants within a 50 metre radius. How unwise. Everybody will know and head there to fight for the prize.

I scale the rock face and leap on to the cliff. I need to find the silent puppet master, and I need to do it fast. With luck, I would take him by surprise and kill him. I didn't like killing, but this was necessary to gain the recognition of the Tsuchikage. As for how I can find him_(he is silent after all)_, I can usually trust my gut instinct for this. 'Left,' I mutter to myself as I head left.

I stop when I reach a clearing at the edge of the plateau, at a cliff. It appears that I am too late. There, at the top of the cliff, a prostrate Suzu Sumiko lay gasping for air while a metal claw choked her. The puppet body of Akasuna no Sasori lay beside her, a katana in the canister for his heart.


	2. Emotions

**I am very sorry for not updating sooner. Please read and review. :)**

**Inspired by: **

**Sasori's theme song: Despair**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only own my OCs. Sasori owns this story.**

* * *

**_ Sasori POV_**

I watch the dark-blue-haired girl as she scrambles to her teammate. Almost immediately, green chakra started glowing at her hands as she tried to heal her. Interesting. This is rare. Iwa shinobi usually are selfish and egoistic. I wonder what happened. However, even the best medic-nin will not help. Her stomach has been destroyed. Gastric juices would flow out and consume her whole system from the inside. She will die in a matter of time.

But that girl is strong. She managed to overpower me. Will I die here? I don't know. At least that girl- What?

_'Sumiko…'_

So that girl is Sumiko. I turn my head and get a good look at the two. _'Reiko… you have a kekkai genkai…'_

Even when I am dying myself, I am still curious.

_'You are part of the Iyasu clan. Your clan has a kekkei genkai. It allows them to use their bone marrow to produce blood cells of other types to heal potentially fatal wounds. It is highly prized… so much that the Tsuchikage would do anything to have it.' _

_'Yes. Your clan was feared for its healing power. The Tsuchikage decided to use your clan as research subjects. But the research failed. You were left in my family's care. But… we felt that we did not want you to become acquitted with any people… since as soon as you turned seventeen you would be sent for research… But I was selfish. I was afraid that others would prosecute me if I became your friend, so…' _

I stay silent and look at the girl called Reiko. She looks at the girl on the ground with something in her eyes. Something… familiar…

_'But Reiko, you were always so optimistic. Even though people would hate you, you still laughed and joked and tried to make friends. I am sorry that I was so self-interested. I hope that by telling you, it would make up for this. I am so sorry… ' _

She only has a few minutes more to live. What will she do?

She coughs weakly, blood and acid coming out of her mouth, and hands something to the girl named Reiko. Two objects. One is a scroll. The other one is a picture. Of a family. The man had grey eyes. The woman was holding a baby which was playing with a tuft of its mother's dark electric blue hair, while the woman played a blink-off with the baby, showing her brown orbs. They were smiling.

_Reiko... thank you…_

* * *

**_Reiko POV _**

Oh Kami. The world has officially turned upside down. I sit there, dazed, trying to digest what happened. I feel sadness, then pain, then anger. But then it all becomes numb. Numb to the bone.

Sumiko is dead. I look at her body. I always thought she didn't care, but she did. I place her hands over her chest and close her eyes.

Opening the scroll, I scan over it. It contains detailed information about the kekkei genkai of my clan. It said that when cells come into contact with a victim's blood cells, the blood cells would change their type and form to become cells of the victim, essentially bringing them back to life.

I look around. If I was really marked for experimentation at seventeen years of age, which was equivalent to Immediate Death, I had better run fast.

I stand up, casting a glance around. Even though Iwa had betrayed me, it still was my hometown. But I needed to get out of the way. Maybe I would come back when Oonoki dies and live as a civilian. For now I needed to get out of the way and hide.

After one last look, I turn around. Better get moving. I grab a kunai, just in case, and-

'You won't get far.'

I stop in my tracks and look behind. There lay Akasuna no Sasori sprawled on the ground. 'What do you mean?'

'They will be here soon. They are only a few kilometres away. Most likely chasing after the brat, which is most likely chasing after me. You would do best to stay here and fight them off before escaping.' He says.

But I am not listening. Scrutinizing his body, I ask, 'You are a human puppet? Why?'

'Art is eternal. Puppets do not decay. Being a puppet allows me to live unfettered by a mortal lifespan, rebuilt over and over, completely indestructible. The only living part is my heart, which contains my chakra and as you can see, your friend as pierced.'

I listen. But I don't believe him. His eyes are dead to the world. They contain pain. He had wanted to escape to his puppet body, but he still needs his heart which comes with emotions. And…

All of a sudden I am filled with rage. What did I do, that I have to run away from the village? Nothing. What did Akasuna no Sasori endure, that he had to turn himself into a puppet so that he had to escape? I don't want to know.

But emotions are important. Emotions are the reason that you have enjoyment. They tell the truth about you. I pull the katanas out and open the canister. They express who you are.

I cut my wrist with a kunai, plunge it deep into the damaged heart of Akasuna no Sasori, and start activating my kekkei genkai.

* * *

**_ Sasori POV_**

I look up at the girl in surprise. I killed her teammate, and now she was trying to heal me with her kekkei genkai?

Her brown eyes started glowing. First it begin as a small pinprick of shining color, then it expanded into gold. The draining sensation went away.

_'So this is the kinjutsu of the Iyasu clan,'_ I thought. But why?

'Being a puppet does not mean that you can escape from emotion you know. I would like you to appreciate your emotions,' She said. 'Emotions define you.'

I stare at her blankly.

As she is closing the wound in my heart, I hear the footsteps of shinobi. 'They are coming,' I tell her faintly.

When the message registers, it is almost too late. A kunai whizzes past, aimed for my heart.

* * *

**_Reiko POV_**

I catch the kunai. I can hear the Iwagakure shinobi muttering to themselves. _She is healing a missing-nin? She has discovered her kekkei genkai? _

Suddenly it all becomes so clear. I was nothing but a test subject. A punching bag. To be hated, despised, feared and ultimately sacrificed.

I close my eyes. Anger overwhelms me.

_'This is the result of keeping secrets for too long.' _Akasuna no Sasori says. I look down at him. I see the pain reflected there. In his eyes.

I bend down and rip the cable dripping poison from his body. I draw a straight cut over the Iwagakure symbol on the front of my hitai-ate. And smirk.

'Ikuku… let's begin, shall we?'


End file.
